SPRINGFIELD — The city is seeking buyers for two tax-foreclosed properties at 60 Byers St., in the downtown, and at 176 Maple St., in the South End, with a focus on historic preservation at both sites.

The Byers Street property is among just a few buildings in Springfield with an international style architecture, said Tina Quagliato, the city’s deputy director of neighborhood stabilization.

In addition, all three apartments in the building are occupied, she said.

The other property on Maple Street is vacant, and the city failed to find a suitable buyer earlier this year, Quagliato said.

176 Maple St.File photo / The Republican

“I think on both of them, the city is hopeful of getting some quality proposals,” Quagliato said.

Proposals to buy and redevelop the sites must be received by 2 p.m., on May 22, at the Purchasing Department at City Hall.

A site tour is scheduled at 60 Byers St., at 2 p.m. on May 8.

A tour is scheduled at 176 Maple St., at 10 a.m. on Saturday, and at 1 p.m., on May 13.

Due to unique architecture of the site on Byers Street, the city is requiring the buyer to enter into a Historic Preservation Agreement prohibiting exterior changes without approval of the Springfield Historical Commission, Quagliato said.

Robert McCarroll, a member of the local historical commission, praised the effort.

“It is a unique building for the city, one of a handful of mid-20th century modern design residences,” McCarroll said.

When built in the mid-1950s, typically the preference was colonial revival, and Tudor-styled residences rather than the modern international style, he said.

The city is most interested in proposals for the Byers Street site that will improve the property and maintain the affordable housing restrictions there, according to the Request for Proposals.

The site is across from the Springfield Armory National Historic Site and the Springfield Technical Community College campus.

Regarding the Maple Street property, the city is offering $75,000 in federally funded Community Development Block Grant assistance, made available for exterior restoration.

It is part of a group of row houses including an adjacent property at 174 Maple St., that already has a buyer, Quagliato said.